Right after the 2009 G-20 London summit from early April, all leaders from South East Asian nations are now heading to Pattaya, Thailand. It comes just over a week after this Group of 20 developed and emerging economies agreed at a key meeting in London to commit one trillion dollars to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other global bodies. The summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and dialogue partners namely China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand will take place at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort, Pattaya from 10-12 April 2009.

As one of the regional and international organisations attended at G20 Summit, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) which represented by Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand’s Prime Minister and Chair of ASEAN, the Southeast Asian nations and key regional partners will use a summit next week to discuss their follow-up to a G20 plan to lift the world out of recession.

The theme of this Summit is “Acting Together to Cope with Global Challenges”, and global economic and financial crisis, food and bio-energy security, and disaster management are among the central issues that the leaders will discuss.

The total of 26 outcome documents are expected to be considered during the Summits, including the ‘Pattaya Statement on ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation on Food Security and Bio-Energy Development’, the ‘Pattaya Statement on East Asia Summit (EAS) Disaster Management’, the ‘Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Good Manufacturing Practice of Medicinal Products’, and the ‘ASEAN- China Investment Agreement.’

In addition to the meetings with dialogue partners, ASEAN leaders will meet with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon. There will also be a meeting with the heads of leading international organizations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to discuss the current global financial crisis and other issues.

Since there have been tremendous achievement from early meetings in Hua Hin in the reflection of the Roadmap for an ASEAN Community declarations and other major trade arrangements such as The ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area, the expectation from the 14th ASEAN Summit in Pattayawouldn’t be anything less than practical solutions and best collaborations to bring further strengths, wealth and happiness to the Southeast Asia region.

For more information about the 14th ASEAN Summit, visit the official website – 14thaseansummit.org

The Canton Fair has become the most comprehensive trade event in China since its inception in 1957 and the recent move to the larger Pazhou Complex should help with its ever-increasing expansion. Held twice per year (Spring and Autumn) in Guanzhou, China’s “Flower City”, the fair has the largest scale, the widest variety of exhibits (nearly 20,000) and the most business turnover from nearly 200,000 buyers and expects even higher figures every year. Instead of the traditional two phases, this year’s edition will be broken into three. Industries are scheduled to present in their respective phases, with each phase running for 5 days from October 15th to November 6th.

Canton Fair 104th Session:

Phase 1: October 15th – 19th, 2008

Phase 2: October 24th – 28th, 2008

Phase 3: November 2nd – 6th, 2008

The 104th session will focus on industrial products, supplemented by consumer goods. The exhibits fall into 9 exhibition subsections.

There’s no question on how successful of this major trading events in one of the world’s economic leading countries will be when you looked at the impressive statistical data. The previous fair in April welcomed 192,013 overseas buyers, increased by 1.3% compared to that in the last session. The Asia buyers reached 104,265, the European buyers 37,161, the American buyers 27,581, the African buyers 16,666, and the Oceania buyers 6,320 In terms of participating buyers, the top five countries and regions were Hong Kong SAR, America, Taiwan Province, India and Malaysia who enjoyed a business turnover of over USD 30,000 million.(Source: Chinacantonfair.com)

Since China has just opened its arms to the world not too long ago with the expansion of its international investment and also the hosting of some major world events such as Beijing Olympic 2008 which welcomed all people from around the world to get involve, everyone knows that all statistics were just only in the beginning stage.

For more information regarding The Canton Fair 104th session, check on Chinacantonfair.com. Please also note that business travelers are recommend to solidify their travel plans early, in order to receive – the best deals on their flight and hotel in Guangzhou which provide easy access to the Canton Fair. With over 40,000 booths, visitors who prepare for the trip beforehand will surely get the most value out of their visit.

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